Aurora grew up in a remote frontier community and attended school in Curlew, Washington. Curlew had one small school accommodating grades pre-K through 12. There was little support for students pursuing options after high school outside of the military, trade school, or farming, and few resources for exploring careers in the arts. Given the lack of opportunities, she took the initiative to create her own. Aurora co-founded SmallTown Strings (now the Carlile Family Band) as a mandolin and bass player in 2018 and co-founded the Kettle River Music Festival Foundation in 2021. She seized an opportunity, with family support, to move 2000 miles to Cleveland, Ohio, for her senior year of high school, which enabled her to complete coursework for her diploma while entering the Recording Arts and Technology program at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C).

Aurora is now part of the Audio-Visual team at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and freelances doing live sound and studio work. After graduating from Tri-C in December with an Associate of Applied Science Degree, she is eager to continue her studies at Berklee College of Music, pursuing a BA in Music Production.